My Election Day Resolution

Election Day is almost here!  And to celebrate, I've decided to officially retire an age-old question that I (along with most Lefties) have continued to ask every four years.  That question being: Why do so many Americans seem to vote against their own interests?

I've heard and read this countless times throughout my adult life and have always found myself agreeing with it. But recently I came across 'the question' in an article and my first thought was, 'That's pretty arrogant.  Why would anyone presume to know what a complete stranger's interests are?'  So in an attempt to account for this thought, I decided to revise the question and....well, here it is:

Why do so many Americans seem to vote against what their own interests should be?

Yikes.  Really, Tim??  The revised version is certainly cringe-worthy, but it brings up a fundamental point that I have somehow overlooked each time I've asked that original question.  Believing that I know what matters most deeply to people I've never met, and who've lived completely dissimilar lives from my own is a critical mistake. At least it is if an actual conversation is the goal. And even worse, it's a mistake born not just from arrogance, but also from that one trait Liberals loathe above all else:  Narrow mindedness. *gasp*  But let's face it. People choose a candidate for all sorts of reasons....and like it or not, those reasons are valid to them, worth their vote and worth defending.

So there ya go.  That question is officially bullshit and as such, I'm tossing into the bin of rhetorical rubbish for all time.  I invite my fellow Left Nuts to do the same, unless you're only interested in confrontation.  Lord knows there's plenty out there to be had....and it's worked so well up till now!

Conversationally,

Tim

You Can't Take it With You

I try filling my brain with as much information as it can handle, but to what end?  If it all goes to waste once my circuitry shuts down and I am no more, there can be little point in collecting info without the intention of using it to better myself or help those around me.

Random image break: Tommy Lee Jones upside down singing Elvis.....Travolta shooting Marvin in the face.

Obvious problem being, the vast majority of information I choose to upload into my headdrive wouldn't be considered, in any traditional sense, useful.  Luckily, my awkward stumble through daily life will occasionally bring me into contact with the serious and poignant, and I collect those moments as well.

That was that Bob Wiley.

Besides, I don't believe the data collected necessarily needs to be used directly.  If it helps to yield a more comprehensive understanding of the way the world works, will that not, in turn, help me make decisions that are likely to benefit the world?

Excuse me, stewardess?  I speak jive.

It sounds like I'm rationalizing at this point, but what choice do I have?  My understanding of what's brought misery and turmoil to our planet is cursory at best.  Meanwhile, I can quote movie lines and song lyrics to the point where even the most gentile of souls would want to smother me with a pillow. 

Sometimes....dead is better.

But I will press on! I will keep dancin' with the one that brung me, ever confidant that my talents will one day, you mark my words, not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A.  Thank you very much.

-tim

1600 Fleet Street

Ok, hear me out......

What if Ted Bundy had been non-violent?  (After all, most psychopaths aren't violent.)  And instead of women, what if Bundy had craved power?  Perhaps his college major would have been business instead of psychology.  Good looking, wealthy, intelligent....and a master at manipulation with a total lack of empathy.  Hopefully you see where I'm going with this but if not, let me help you out.  Mitt Romney may be a psychopath.

Now before you go crying foul, keep in mind that being psychopathic isn't all that uncommon. Especially for guys.  Roughly 1 in 100 men are psychopaths. (true!) And again, most of them are non-violent.  But they also have no sense of compassion, guilt, shame or embarrassment.  Instead, the psychopath will lie, cheat and manipulate to get what he wants with a total disregard for those he has hurt along the way.

Which brings us back to Mitt.  I'm not sure why everyone is so quick to give Mitt Romney the 'good guy' tag.  Has he done anything to deserve it?  Maybe so, but I haven't seen it.  We all want to believe that a man so close to occupying the Oval Office is a decent human being....perhaps so much so that we're willing to lie to ourselves when the evidence shows otherwise.  Romney is a man who has made a living by fucking people over.  Think about that.  It's one thing to not care about helping people (i.e. W), but it's something else entirely to knowingly wreck people's lives for the sake of profit.  Frankly, I don't think Mitt Romney has an empathetic bone in his body.  Quite the contrary. What I see is a man who chuckles whilst being reminded of his days as a schoolyard bully.

So the Real Question becomes, what if he wins?  What happens when America becomes one giant schoolyard for Mitt Romney?  Will you be one of the rich few cheering him on?  Or will you be on the ground with the rest of us, crying for help, while that chuckling psycho cuts your hair?

-TRS

Doing the Math

Because human beings are flawed, we can all admit that our justice system is flawed.  And yet we continue to execute people based on this flawed system.  So it stands to reason that we've undoubtedly executed innocent people.  How do we, as a nation, justify this?   I have no answers.  But isn't it interesting how people can be so cavalier about supporting Capital Punishment, then turn around and admit that they themselves could not be executioners. Aww....and why is that, simpleton? If killing someone is the right thing to do, what's the problem??

Exactly.

-TRS

The Dems' Answer to the Tea Party

"And Death Shall Have No Dominion"

For Jeremy....

"And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion."
                                                  -- Dylan Thomas

"Knock that shit off!"

According to Freud, we're all born as sexual deviants.  After a few years of being allowed to act on our developing sexual impulses, we're eventually told to "Knock that shit off!"  Society dictates which shit is to be 'knocked off' and which is considered acceptable behavior. I think we can all agree that there need to be certain societal standards so that basic order can be maintained.  After all, we can't have folks running around flashing old ladies or sticking their knobs in fence holes.  Kids caught engaging in such activities are rightly told to 'Knock that shit off!'  But what happens when there's a split in society's definition of acceptable behavior? 

Until very recently, gay people were considered sexual deviants by mainstream America and as such, told by parents, family, friends, priests and even total strangers to KTSO!  The obvious rub being that homosexuality isn't a phase or a fetish, it's an identity.  America finally seems to be catching up with this fact, e.g. the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and that's serving to shine a spotlight on the lingering ignorance and bigotry directed towards gays in this country.

Now, a moment to share my feelings on so-called 'deviant' sexual behavior.  It is my blog, after all.  Without exception, children, animals and the mentally challenged are off limits.  If you need me to explain why, seek help.  Otherwise, as long as there's consent, and applying the same societal standards of public decorum I mentioned earlier, adults should feel no shame in doing whatever and whoever makes them happy.  (Or is it whomever? Fah!)  Anyway, that's my take. 

So what's the next step?  How do we finally turn this corner as a nation and make it unacceptable to treat, or even speak of homosexuality as a negative?  I think it's safe to say that progressives in this country will do what they've always done....drag the 'old gaurd' kicking and screaming into the future.  As for how best to do this, I've always been a fan of the 'Good News/Bad News' scenario.  For instance....

"Bad news: You were 'brought up to believe' a load of intolerant, phobic bullshit.  Good news:  As an adult, you're allowed to use your intellect and adjust your beliefs accordingly.  No one expects this to happen overnight, or in your lifetime for that matter, but wouldn't it be nice to prove people wrong once in a while?  To show them that you aren't just some lowbrow, shit-kicking, scripture quoting hypocrite?"

An immediate, visceral response is to be expected.  But once John Q. Homophobe is allowed to think on this for a while, he will begin to realize that he is not what the rest of us perceive him to be.  But even as this newfound truth washes over him, it's unlikely that his public persona will change.  Thankfully, the key to cultural reform doesn't rest with the current generation.  It's about what their children are 'brought up to believe'....and their children's children.  An evolving societal shift is a painfully slow process, but an inevitable one.  To help it along, it becomes the duty of the enlightened majority to be vocal about their beliefs, and to call out out the homophobic minority whenever possible.  Stand up!  And don't be afraid to say those four simple words....

"Knock that shit off!"

Perfect example!  Thanks, Candace....

-TRS